Football Drops GPAC Opener to #25 Dordt

Football hosted No. 25 Dordt under the lights in Crete on Saturday evening on a warm evening. The Defenders were able to score in all three facets of the game on their way to a 49-7 win over the Tigers.

On the first play of the game, Dordt's Lucas Huttinga picked up a fumble and scored from 15-yards out for the early lead. They pushed their lead to 14-0 following a five-play, 47 yard drive that resulted in a Kolson Kruse to Preston McCoy nine-yard touchdown.

Doane got on the board late in the first quarter as the Tigers covered 95 yards on 10 plays. The big play on the drive was a 55-yard touchdown pass by Cruz Kirwan to Jeremiah Payne.

The Defenders responded with a long drive, going 86 yards on 10 plays with a Nick Wellen one-yard touchdown run. Midway through the second quarter, Ty Clemens completed on eight-yard touchdown pass. On Doane's next possession, the Tigers had a field goal attempt blocked and Chip Kasay picked it up and ran 60 yards for a touchdown to give Dordt a 35-7 lead at the break.

In the second half, the Defenders opened the third quarter with the ball and covered 85 yards on 17 plays over 9:04. Kruse completed a six-yard pass to Eli Boldan for the touchdown. Kruse had the biggest play on the drive, a 16-yard scramble on 3rd and long. The final Dordt touchdown was a 17-yard run by Brendan Pieper early in the fourth quarter.

Dordt finished the game with 411 yards of total offense while Doane finished with 243 yards. The Defenders won the turnover battle, sitting plus-4 as they forced the Tigers into six giveaways which led to 21 points.

Kirwan finished the game with 148 yards passing on 13-of-22 with a touchdown. Gavin Nash was 1-of-5 for two yards and Rook Williams was 1-of-3 for 21 yards. John DeRiso had a hot start and finished with six receptions for 68 yards. Payne added three catches for 55 yards and Joaquin Gutierrez finished with three for 31 yards.

Frazzie Wynn led the ground game with 38 yards on 12 carries and Trystan Graf totaled 27 yards on 10 attempts.

Defensively, Cooper Hancock led the way with seven total tackles, including four solo. Kelen Meyer finished with six tackles with Jarett Boggs and Brenden Knapp posting five apiece. Boggs and Jared Smith each recovered a fumble in the game for the defense.